Cycle of Angst

The morning after the congressional $700 billion bail out bust, Associated Press writer Andrew Taylor wrote, "Two cities joined Monday in a mutually reinforcing cycle of angst and fear that shook the nation's political and financial foundations and sent the Dow spiraling into its worst one-day loss." While Taylor doesn't explain how the cycle of angst and fear (in Washington D.C. and New York City) actually worked, the capitol was a laboratory of illustration.
Lawmakers, resonsible for making a clear and rational decision on a critical issue created instead opportunities to give and receive offense from and to each other.
Given the behaviors, we can have no confidence that non-anxious and calm leadership was used to explore, consider, think through and act on a best course.